Categories
Close
Menu
Menu
Close
Search
Search

Featured Articles

Opinion

Last week at The Fonecast: 5th June 2012

SuperUser Account

Don't expect a positive answer from the Oracle

Share:

Print

Rate article:

4.0
Rate this article:
4.0

Mark Bridge writes:

Here in the UK, we have a double Bank Holiday weekend to celebrate the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee. That means two days away from work for many of us (and also two days of unseasonably bad weather, according to tradition).

In fact, the three of us at The Fonecast are celebrating our own anniversary this month. It’s been six years since we started podcasting about the mobile phone industry. We’ll be revisiting some of those early programmes - and the biggest mobile news headlines from 2006 - in this week’s podcast on Wednesday.

The biggest news from the last few days is what can loosely be called a ‘conclusion’ to the Android-related legal battle between Google and Oracle. No patents were infringed, no copyright was breached... and there’s no chance this will be the last we hear of it. Expect an appeal from Oracle and much discussion about the copyright of coding.

Research In Motion made another unwelcome return to the headlines by warning that its next set of quarterly results would show an operating loss – and it’s also expecting to cut staff numbers. Disappointment from Cisco as well; it’s stopped work on the business-focussed Cius tablet.

But cheer up; it’s not all bad news. There’s been plenty happening in the world of payments, with Gartner’s research anticipating over £100 billion being transacted via mobile this year and Juniper Research expecting a quarter of European mobile users to be paying via NFC within 5 years.

A new app called PayPal inStore is now offering mobile payments in high-street shops without NFC, another mobile payment solution has just launched for UK businesses and the m-ticket innovators at Masabi have demonstrated how NFC phones can be used as smart transport tickets.

Customer service has been attracting plenty of attention too. Everything Everywhere says it’s going to redesign its service operations around handset operating systems and the devices that use them, while Ofcom has opened a consultation about an improved 'text relay' service for mobile users with hearing and speech impairments.

Finally for now, let’s turn to a different kind of mobile service. As the Diamond Jubilee weekend moves towards its conclusion, all eyes turn to the London 2012 Olympics. Mobile technology is ready to cope with the visitors... but it’s not what you might expect.

A recent announcement from BT has confirmed it’s on track to have 500,000 WiFi hotspots working across London in time for the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, including exclusive WiFi service across the Olympic Park in East London. And Virgin Media has named a list of 82 London Underground stations that will offer free WiFi this summer. Perhaps an excellent opportunity for a VoIP call to tell your friends “I’m in a tunnel”.

Hmmm. I’m sure I’ve said that before.

Start your week with a reminder of the latest mobile headlines. Simply register at TheFonecast.com by clicking the link at the top right-hand corner of our home page and we’ll send you this weekly news summary by email.

The Fonecast is sponsored by 51Degrees.mobi. More details about advertising and sponsorship opportunities are available on the About Us section of our website.

Comments

Collapse Expand Comments (0)
You don't have permission to post comments.

Opinion Articles

Whatever happened to all my tech?

ExclusiveWhatever happened to all my tech?

Mark Bridge writes:

I've been taking a look back at the devices I've written about during the past few years. Some are still faithful companions, others... well, let's just say my faith was misplaced.

ExclusivePredictions for 2016: Network Function Virtualisation, 4G throttling and video calling

Mark Windle, head of marketing at OpenCloud, predicts that this year’s reduction in the number of traditional telecoms operators in some countries will provide an opportunity for other operators to innovate and capture market share in 2016.

He says next year will be a year of rapid change for telecoms… whether it’s MVNO disruption, competitive tariff pricing or simply defence from the ‘dark art’ of hacking.

Kapture review: the audio-recording wristband

ExclusiveKapture review: the audio-recording wristband

Mark Bridge writes:

The most memorable moments in life often go unrecorded. You don't have your camera in your hands. Your finger is still hovering over the 'pause' button on your audio recorder. Or you were simply too busy experiencing whatever was happening. It's all about the one that got away.

That's where Kapture can help.

RSS
12345678910Last

Recent Podcasts

ExclusivePodcast - 27th October 2010

This week's podcast includes big news from Nokia along with the rest of the week's industry headlines. There's also an interview with Jamie Driver from MedHand about putting medical information on mobile phones.

ExclusivePodcast - 20th October 2010

In this week's podcast we talk to Clive Bayley, managing director of Fonehouse, about the current state of the UK market for mobile phone dealers. There's also a look at the week's major mobile headlines, from O2's location-based marketing to Apple's quarterly results.

ExclusivePodcast - 13th October 2010

This week's podcast sees the long-awaited launch of Windows Phone 7, the creation of the GSMA's mWomen project and a wide variety of other mobile industry news, from legal action to SMS marketing.

ExclusivePodcast - 6th October 2010

Iain, James and Mark take their usual entertaining look at the UK's mobile phone industry, from irresponsible texting to patent wars. There's also an interview with Steve Jarrett of MePlease who explains how his company could transform the way people think about mobile marketing.

ExclusivePodcast - 29th September 2010

This week's edition of The Fonecast covers the new BlackBerry PlayBook tablet, Windows Phone 7, the EC, mobile advertising and accessory sales. There's also an interview with Dave Tharp from Roulette Cricket about his company's success in the Vodafone Mobile Clicks 2010 competition.

RSS
First6061626365676869Last

Follow thefonecast.com

Archive Calendar

«July 2026»
MonTueWedThuFriSatSun
293012345
6789101112
13141516171819
20212223242526
272829303112
3456789

Archive